


Dirt & Gridball

by Beanie_xo



Series: Four Seasons, Four Stories (Stardew Valley) [1]
Category: Stardew Valley (Video Game)
Genre: Eventual Happy Ending, Eventual Relationships, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Gridball, Heart Events mildly out of order, Multi, Personal Growth, Sad, Sports, eventual wedding, the beach
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-04
Updated: 2019-06-05
Packaged: 2019-08-17 10:12:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 15,275
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16514390
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Beanie_xo/pseuds/Beanie_xo
Summary: Zuzu City was like a virus to many. Didn't matter where you were on the pyramid of class. Be poor or rich, there was always something bad lurking on the actually good people in the world. A fine example being Riley. In between both worlds, trying to get out there in the world, only to be shadowed by her parents every chance she gets. In the end, she finds herself working with the Joja Corporation; using her as a way to get work contracts with her parents. She was nothing more than a rope to her parents for others.Heeding her Grandfather's words after so many years, she takes his final deed with her, going to the only place that she knew she could be someone again. Be a person. Riley packs her bags and goes off to Stardew Valley, where Wind Acres Farm, the only place that held such fond memories for Riley when she was younger, where her Grandfather had the brightest smile.This had to be her calling.





	1. Little Things

**Chapter One: Little Things**   
**( Spring 11, Year 1 )**

****  
  
It had been a hell of a starting week here on the farm. Since moving in, finding tools and clearing the grounds up, Riley truly had her work cut out for her. She had even gone out of the way to meet everyone in town, which she had finished the previous day. Apparently, there was a guild that was by the mines according to Pierre, she was probably going to stop in later to see what was up there, and who was running the place, after all, she was curious of who she would find. After all, this was a whole new place to her, at least it was different compared to twelve years ago, but it was making her feel like she was, well, Riley again. Something hadn’t felt like in a very long time. Along with actual friends, which were really just old friends that she was getting to know again. 

Pretty much all the town’s people were still exactly how Riley remembered them during all those years previously. Haley was still perfect in every sense of the word, very annoying too, but Riley put up with it all anyways for the sake of Emily, who was still way too kind for her own good. Abigail, Sam, and Sebastian were still the same, older but still pretty much the kids that she ended up playing with a lot, so it was easier to reconnect with them after her long absence. Penny seemed to have only grown more silent over the years from what Riley could tell, but that Penny though, she was quiet, though a really good teacher, especially now that she was tutoring Vincent and Jas. Yeah, Vincent, Jas, and Shane were new faces… they seemed to easily fit into the town’s aesthetic though, and Riley was even including Haley when she spoke that. There was just one person that was like that one puzzle piece that was still kind of lost within the mess of pieces. 

It was Evelyn’s grandson; Alex. Riley remembered pretty easily of Evelyn talking about Alex to her whenever Riley crossed paths with Evelyn when she was a child, she would gush about Alex when she got a letter from her daughter. Riley was interested in Alex then, pretty much as she was now. She had met him, but she also felt like she didn’t at the same time, like he was putting up some kind of wall that Haley seemed to manage to get down somehow, or at least break it a little bit. 

Yes, the fact that she can see apple-like harvest spirits and there is literally a wizard living in Cindersap Forest that she could walk to in ten minutes, just Riley was more concerned about Alex. Maybe it was because he was more withdrawn from the rest of the town. He knew that Haley was something more than how she played off to be, besides Emily. Yet that seemed to leave this crazy idea in Riley’s head that she was pretty sure that Haley and Alex were secretly dating. Sebastian, Sam, and Abigail knew nothing about them even possibly being a couple, yet they got on board of with Riley’s pretty insane theory. Maybe she was just insane, or she was focusing on this way too much. It was just bugging her so much, she was never really on board with the whole local gossip, but she was on board with her own whacky gossip. 

“And you seem to be watering the same plant… you might be drowning it.” 

Riley’s watering can easily slipped from her hand, out of surprised, almost crushing her potato plant, that she was indeed drowning in water. Turning around, Sebastian, Abigail, and Sam were there, a basket of food and drinks at the ready.    
  
“I’m going to murder you all…” Riley commented, wiping her hands on her pants, realizing how sweaty they had become. 

“Still bothered by gossip theories?” Abigail asked, spreading out a blanket for them to sit on. 

“It shouldn’t be this big of a deal, but like… I want to connect to everyone… Haley has been beyond difficult to even hold a conversation with… and Alex, he somehow can, but he’s so hard to approach due to some form of an issue that is obviously isn’t about the toxic social image from social media but it seems to be a cover-up,” Riley explained, setting her watering can up properly before joining the others on the blanket.   
  
“You sound like you know what’ up,” Sam said, handing Riley a Joja Cola.   
  
“...he has that feeling about him that reminds me of me. Like he’s missing someone that isn’t around anymore,” Riley said, playing with the hem of her blue flannel.

The three smiled softly at her. Riley was a kind, talent person, yet nobody outside of Pelican Town saw Riley as who she really was. She was buried by what greatness her parents are, not by her skills or how nice she was. She was treated like a mini-boss for the attention of her parents. She pretty much became a flower that never saw the sun often. She wasn’t Riley. Hearing her stories about the past several years before now, the three wished she was always in the valley, but she was recovering now and looked better compared to her first day here. 

Sebastian was about to say something before there was the sound of hurried footsteps and mild labored breathing from the path that leads to town, catching the attention of the four, only to see that it was Alex; cheeks a bit flustered, and sweat shining upon his face.    


“Um, Rye? No… Riley?” Alex questioned, voice loud enough to hear, having not seen her yet, before finally, his green eyes landed on the group. “Oh! Hi…” 

“What can I do for you, Alex?” Riley asked, resting her can of soda on the blanket. 

Alex just stared at them for a moment before finally registering what she had said. “Um, Abuela… Granny was wondering if you have fresh parsnips, a dozen?” he asked, beginning to dig into his pockets for money. 

Riley rushed to her feet quickly, striding to Alex, and grabbing at his arm, stopping him quickly before he gave money. “No, I don’t sell, they are for everyone,” she stated, letting go of Alex’s arm and going to her chest to pull a dozen parsnips from it.   
  


Alex was just staring at Riley, taken back by her decline to money until she held out a bag of them to him. “Here you go, the best parsnips in the entire valley,” Riley joked, smiling at Alex. “If your Granny needs anything else, tell her to write a letter or send you, I’ll see what I can do to make her request happen,” 

“Thanks,” Alex said, taking the bag, even bowing to her before running off, leaving them there. 

“Well, he still doesn’t know your name,” Abigail said, poking light fun at Alex. 

“He did get it in the end,” Sam pointed out, passing Riley a sandwich. “Why don’t you take money?” 

Riley bit into the yummy goodness of Jodi’s homemade sandwich before chewing and swallowing. “Because, giving back to the community is better, and it’s what my grandfather did, and I get money from formal requests, and just keeping places stock with fresh stuff, which isn’t JojaMart’s way,” she shared, taking another bite of her sandwich.

“Can I come work for you?” Sam asked, giving Riley puppy dog eyes. 

“I am sadly not a business, and would be in so much shit if I was running an underground job,” Riley stated, taking a seat again with the others. 

Sam whined before changing the conversation to something more their speed. Riley listened in, yet a gentle blush came to her face at her little interaction with Alex. He was different, he seemed to be something much more than he was letting on, he felt determined about something, and there was something that held a very brought caring attitude about him. After all, he ran all the way out here for Evelyn, reminding Riley when she would get to Pierre's for seeds when she was old enough too. Maybe the key to getting to know Alex better was finding similarities that they could both relate to, it was better than just those awkward little interactions that they’ve been having since she arrived. 

  
  


**( Spring 13 - Year 1 )**

 

Two days after Alex’s little run up to the farm, Riley was now the one running to him. She was in need of anyone, and Alex was the first person that came to mind when she thought of somebody who would be up this early and ready to go. Kindly knocking on the door of Evelyn’s and George’s house, she waited there, brushing off the dirt from herself. 

“Dear, what’s wrong?” Evelyn questioned, seeing a rather flustered Riley at her door so early in the morning.

“Is Alex home?” Riley asked, pushing her bangs from her face, knowing that she looked like a mess currently. 

“He’s in his room, I’ll go get him,” Evelyn said, moving to let Riley in a little before going to get Alex, just in time for George to be passing and see the distressed looking Riley. 

“What happened to you?” George questioned, raising a judging eyebrow.

“A bear got into my tools, and now they are all up a tree… and branches kept breaking…” Riley explained weakly, glancing over George’s shoulder to see a very shirtless Alex coming towards her. George had to look over his shoulder to see what had caught her attention before looking back to the young woman, giving a smirk to her but moved out of the way anyways.

Riley needed to physically will herself to not moan out loud when Alex slipped his shirt over his very toned and very hard earned body. Alex was definitely a gridball player, or he was, it had to be gridball, it was the only sport that was huge among men. “Hey, farmer girl, you needed me?” Alex asked, standing slightly behind his grandfather that had moved out of the way but was smirking at Riley’s red face that was now not from the spriting she did to get here, but from just the places her thoughts took her. 

“Can you help me, there’s an issue on the farm that I can’t deal with on my own,” Riley said, brushing her bangs from her face once again, though quickly leaned back when Alex reached out for her. 

“Does the bits of trees and bushes have something to do with the need for help?” Alex asked, holding out a tiny branch.

“...Yeah,” said admitted, reaching up and started to pick out the branches and leaves from her hair.

“Let’s get going then, you seem to be in an emergency,” Alex said, stepping around George and joining Riley in the doorway. 

“Have fun, I’ll have food ready when you both get back,” Evelyn said, smiling warmly at the two, seeing them standing there next to each other, Riley actually didn’t even have the heart to decline Evelyn’s offer of food, maybe Riley would bring some of her crops back for Evelyn.

Smiling and waving goodbye, the two of them left, going off toward the farm. Riley continued to pull branches and leaves from her hair that might as well be a nest at this point. The two of them walked silently, there was nothing that they could really talk about, they didn’t really know each other that well after all, so there were topics all lined out, but it depended if they other people would be okay with it. 

“So, what happened that you came running?” Alex questioned, glancing at Riley, even going as far as to pull out a branch, actually the last branch.

“A bear dragged all my tools up a tree, which I attempted to climbed…” Riley explained, looking at her feet sheepishly. “And fell a few times. I have a ladder, but it’s so old that I don’t think it’s safe to just lean it against a tree.” 

“Ah,” he replied, leaving the conversation as it was. 

Silence fell over them once again, and Riley was actually swimming or something now because she didn’t have to focus on getting stuff out of her hair. Thinking about to a shirtless Alex seemed to get her brain to pull something up. “Where you working out when I arrived?” she asked, looking at Alex with curious stormy blue eyes. 

“Yeah, gotta stay in shape,” Alex replied, pearly whites flashing her with his wide smile that he shot her way. 

“True,” Riley said, nodding her head, and thanking Yoba that they arrived so she didn’t end up going on a game of twenty questions, all of which were way too personal. “Oh, over here!” 

Riley leads Alex to the tree, perfectly showcasing her tools like tree decorations on Christmas, the two of them looked at the tree, needing to come up with a game plan to get all of these tools down without anymore falling from Riley. 

“If we get the ax, we could get the rest down,” Alex suggested, noticing the ax was a clear shot.

“And break my watering can?” Riley questioned, staring at her already questionable bruised up watering can that seemed like would shatter if dropped one more time.

“If we catch it before it hits the ground, it’ll be fine,” Alex pointed out, looking at the watering can as well. 

“Um… I’ll go get the- WHOA!” Riley exclaimed, before being lifted up into Alex’s arms, his very toned arms. 

Alex easily carried her over, lifting her up more, until the ax was within her reach. Riley wanted to freak out, but with how close the ax was, she carefully reached out with both hands to take it. She wasn’t going to let it swing down and end up killing Alex. Once Alex had deemed it safe, he placed Riley back on the ground, his hands not letting her go until he was sure that she was standing on her two own feet. Riley turned to Alex; speechless by his actions, without warning her, ready to give him a piece of her mind, but she saw his eyes and she froze. 

They were like fresh spring grass after winter, shining brightly under the first spring rays. Riley’s anger melted away from the softness that they held, yet, that sadness was still there. Keeping her mouth shut, she went to chopping the tree, leaving it to Alex to catch her watering can, which he did, with a rather impressive reaction time. Riley was now completely sure that Alex was still doing gridball. 

And it added onto her theory that Alex and Haley were keeping their relationship a secret because this would totally be something right out of a movie that people would bug them endlessly about it, especially Shane. 


	2. A Dance to Remember

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some more Dirt & Gridball here featuring the flower dance, and mention of a previous event that I totally forgot that should have happened in the first chapter. Anyways, just a heads up, as you probably noticed, these chapters have time skips, and I am going to be putting most of the in-game events and stuff in the story. The time skips are kind of just me seeing how I should write my next three in this series since I have three other farmers that I plan on doing.   
> Please enjoy this next chapter!

**Chapter Two: A Dance to Remember  
(Spring 23-Year 1)**

 

Lounging on the couch in Sebastian’s room with the others playing a card game at the table while Riley was looking at all her documents for this season. She was making a profit thanks to her cutting back on fruitless spending and she was giving out good quality crops for a requests stocks at a very decent price. Everything was going pretty great for her first season here, now, she needed to budget for the summer that was coming up in five days, and start looking into the best crops that she should be placed in on the first day as well. 

“Are you going to the Flower Dance?” Sam asked, looking up at Riley. 

Then there was that. She did not want to think about the dance. Not like she could find a partner to dance with. “I’ll go, but wouldn’t be doing much,” Riley said, picking up her notebook to start her planning. 

“Are you still embarrassed about the Egg Festival?” Sebastian questioned, eyeing Riley with a smirk. 

“Everyone was staring at me the entire time like we did something wrong, he was just helping me with getting my damn tools out of a tree,” Riley said, now clicking her pen nervously. “Yeah, my hair was a mess…And then Haley came marching over to spill punch all over me for no reason,” 

After Alex’s help with getting her tools from the tree, he even helped with her morning tasks, just so she was done on time for the festival. Sadly, all Riley had time to do with her hair was fix it back into a ponytail, but walking into town had turned heads. Nobody whispered, but nobody really said anything to her either, until Haley purposely dumped an entire cup full of punch on her for now reason. Sure, jump the gun and think that Riley somehow managed to seduce Alex in the span of maybe an hour. In the end, Riley barely left the farm for the last few days since then. Sebastian, Abigail, and Sam came by to make sure that Riley could still help out the community, but to also keep her company has she did her work. 

“You should enjoy yourself, everyone is worried about you,” Abigail said, pouting a little bit. “Haley wouldn’t do it again, I’ll even talk to Emily to make sure of it.” 

“Don’t worry, I’ll be fine,” Riley said, opening up her notebook to start working. “I’ll go to make an appearance and enjoy the food, that’s it.” 

“You are so depressing,” Same said, throwing his cards onto the table. “Do you want to dance with me tomorrow?” 

Riley paused her writing, looking at Sam, raising a curious brow. “You want to dance with me?” she questioned, resting her pen on her paper. 

“Sure, Penny wouldn’t mind,” Sam said, pulling out his phone, at ready to text Penny. “Do you want to?” 

“Can we get the dress fitted in time?” Riley asked, but Abigail had her phone out already, messaging someone. “Um…”

“Emily says she’s on her way,” Abigail said, sitting back in her chair, looking like a champion. 

“And Penny is all for giving you the dress, she enjoys the dance, but she’s just kind of getting tired of doing it every year,” Sam said, passing his phone to Abigail to see. “This will be fun, and you can become the first Flower Queen in a long time that hasn’t been Haley.” 

Riley smiled happily at her friends, yet she looked down at her notebook, seeing the words written there, several voices come from the back of her head. To go dance, it would be what her mother would call a pointless function to go to; while her father would encourage her, telling her it was another skill to practice on, gain, become better. Why were her parents always haunting her? She had came out here to get away from them, yet they were in her head. Picking up her pen again, she went back to work, not responding to Sam’s comment. She had heard about Haley being the Flower Queen every year, why would that change? And, who would even look her way even if she was dressed up? 

Emily arrived pretty quickly, just no Penny yet, though it seemed that Emily sent her home, she only needed Riley’s measurements, after all, Riley deserved her own dress. Riley took a break long enough to let Emily get all her information, even going as far as to kick Sam and Sebastian from the room to let Riley undress for a couple of minutes. Once that was finished, Riley was dressed again, back to doing her work. Emily left as soon as she arrived, letting go back to their business, but reminding Riley she would be by in the morning to help get her ready, and do any last minute adjustments. 

Riley didn’t stay long much after that, she headed home pretty quickly to give herself some time to breathe before bed. She sat in the only chair she had, playing with her hair. Was it too soon to show her face? Yes, it was a huge misunderstanding, but would Haley come verbal? She didn’t want the whole town to be bothered by whatever war Haley thought she needed to have with Riley. Riley’s mother came to mind, Riley knew that her mother would have confronted Haley, calling her out in front of the entire town. Riley just wasn’t like that, she wasn’t the one to jump right in without having all the facts first. Yes, it did look really wrong that Riley’s hair was a mess, and Alex was walking back with her, both sweaty, and mildly disraveled due to the farm work, but were those looks really needed? Was Haley’s reaction really necessary? But Sam, Sebastian, and Abigail said that everyone missed her, were worried about her for the last week after all of that, and they wanted her there, Emily was even making her a dress. Riley really couldn’t back out now. 

A soft knock came from the door, catching Riley’s attention, and getting herself out from going deeper into her head. Getting up, she went to the door, opening it, only to come face to face with a puppy, while Marine was poking her head out with a smile. “Hey, Riley, I found this little guy outside your farm earlier today, and you weren’t home, so I thought I would come by now,” Marine said, looking at the black and grey german shepherd in her harms. “He seems homeless, and I worry about you up on the farm by yourself, so I was thinking, do you want to adopt him?” 

Riley just stared at the german shepard, just kind of taking the dog in, before she took him from Marine’s arms and brought him into her own. He was so small and soft, curling up into her chest, while he watched Riley with big blue eyes. “Yes, I will…” Riley said, smiling at the puppy in her arms like it was her new born child. “You are Noctis now, buddy…” 

Marine smiled warmly at the two as Noctis gave kisses to Riley, happy that he was taken in by the young female that now held her. “How are you doing, Riley? I haven’t seen you in awhile,” Marine wondered, giving off that she was worried about her truly. 

“Riley glanced up to Marine, but looked away soon after, kind of ashamed. “I’m good, just been focusing on the farm,” she said, petting Noctis, as a way to bring comfort to herself, to keep her from slipping into some place that wouldn’t be too nice.

“I’m sorry about what happened at the Egg Festival with Haley,” Marine apologized, smiling to Riley out of true kindness. “Alex called Haley out for being rude for no reason, he explained to us why you guys were in such a state, Harvey became concerned when he heard you fell from a tree.” 

With paused movements, Riley looked to Marine, curious about the information she had just learned. “Um, it wasn’t a high fall, and I’ve done things that hurt me more,” she said, suddenly feeling very open about all of this. Marine was kind of like that Aunt that the children could all open up to because she could keep a secret and not tease them over anything that the children told them. “Yoba, I can’t think about everyone thought about the sight… Like Haley, her reaction was anything like what you all were thinking…” 

“We were actually think Alex came out of his shell,” Marine said, surprising Riley even more. “Yes, we thought that it was in a very different way, but we weren’t going to judge you both, you both seem to respect each other. I was thinking that you had some kind of hidden charm you didn’t tell us about.” 

“All I did was rush over to his grandparents house, looking like a disaster,” Riley joked, smiling warmly at Marine. “He was a life saver that day, I’m still trying to figure out how to thank him…” 

“I bet her was,” Marine said, seeing the happy look in Riley’s eyes as she thought back to that morning. “If you want to gift him something, go ask Evelyn, she probably knows exactly what Alex likes. Anyways, I should be heading home, Jas is in bed and I don’t want to leave her alone too long, hopefully, I’ll see you tomorrow,” 

Marine waved goodbye, heading back towards her ranch, leaving Riley and Noctis out on her porch. “Night, Marine,” Riley replied, slipping back into her house, closing the door before letting Noctis down. “Well, I’m not alone anymore, and have no reason to be focusing on such negative thoughts now,” 

She was now going to need to get dog food, and other things for Noctis, but sadly he was going have to wait a day before she could do all of that, at least she had things for now. Riley glanced at her notebook, realizing that she was going to need to finish that, but for right now, sleeping was calling to her. Both herself and Noctis climbed into bed and went to sleep, looking forward to tomorrow. 

 

**(Spring 24-Year 1: Flower Dance)**

 

Looking in the mirror after Emily came and dolled her up, Riley felt awkward. It had been awhile since she needed to be in a dress, but she kind of liked this really simple, off white, blue tinted dress, Emily did an amazing job with such little time. Hopefully, it didn’t freak everyone out that the farmer girl had dressed up. Now, all Riley had to do now was wait for her friends, they wanted to see her before anyone else, and she was going to give that to them. Riley didn’t want to arrive without them either. Pam probably knew about Riley taking Penny’s place, probably Mayor Lewis as well, but nobody else knew that Riley was going to be there. Maybe Sam’s, Abigail’s, and Sebastian’s families too, but she had a feeling those three would keep it a secret until they all arrived. 

Noctis was rolling around on the rug, pretty happy with himself, Riley took a seat on her chair, playing with the hem of her dress. It was reminding Riley of the dress that her grandfather gave her when she was like five. It was for the Luau, her Grandfather and Lewis wanted to impress the Governor, like every year. Now, here was Riley, dressed up to have a good time with her friends, to show that she wasn’t hiding from the town after the punch incident. 

A knock came from her front door, her attention getting sucked from going deeper into her inner thoughts. Getting to her feet, Riley went to her door, opening it like a cover for her body, Sam was there, smiling warmly at her. “Hey, are you ready?” he asked, holding out his arm. 

Riley glanced around, seeing no Abigail or Sebastian. “Where are Abby and Seb?” she questioned, thinking they were hiding.

“Meeting us there, their parents asked for their help,” Sam responded, though he could see the nervous look. “Can I see your dress?” 

Riley took a deep breath before finally stepping out from the door, showing off her dress. It was an off white base; showing the pale green tint in the sunlight. The ribbon of royal blue was tied around her waist, coming together in the back like a bow. The skirt stopped just above her knees, and looked light and flowy. Maybe she should back out, this looked-

“You look beautiful,” Sam said, smiling warmly at Riley, seeing Emily really out did herself. 

She looked away, feeling her cheeks become flustered at Sam’s comment. Was she really? Se was in something so simple. But Riley also knew that Sam wouldn’t lie to her either. Glancing back to Sam, he still held out his arm to her. She reached out, hooking arms with Sam. He only seemed to smile wider once he saw her gain a little more confidence within herself. Riley carefully closed her door, keeping in mind she needed to tell the three about Noctis, but she needed to focus on not tripping. 

The two of them took their time over, mainly because of Riley’s partial break down when they got closer. After finally getting over the bridge, Riley was grateful for Abigail rushing over to  praise Emily’s work and to mention how cute she was. Sebastian even agreed. Riley went to mildly socialize with the other members of town for a little before returning to Sebastian, Abigail and Sam. The four kept to themselves, Jas and Vincent occasionally asking Riley to dance with them. Unknown to her, someone kept looking at her. 

Not too far, Alex as with Haley, occasionally glancing over at Riley if she was moving a lot more than just standing there. He wanted to see how she was doing, but Haley was wanting his attention since she was practicing. Alex felt kind of bad for not chasing after Riley that day, yet at the same time, maybe it was better that he stayed to clear things up. At least she was here today. 

Mayor Lewis finally called upon them to get ready for the flower dance. Everyone that was going to be in the dance lined up, Riley took the end with Sam, the two of them smiling at each other. Riley felt more comfortable being here after finally talking with mostly everyone in town, and she felt confident in her abilities to complete this dance. As the music started, all of Riley’s attention was to Sam until her eyes caught Alex’s, who were more upon her than Haley. As much as she should had been paying attention to Sam, she was more focused on Alex as well, becoming very hyperly aware of how close he was. The last note of the song drew out, breaking their trance. The rest of the Flower Dance was stolen glances and gentle smiles, sadly, neither of them approached the other and that was okay, they still had their own silent conversations throughout the rest of the time they were there. 


	3. A Beach Meeting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Two chapters in one day, woot.   
> Enjoy.

**Chapter Three - A Beach Meeting**

**(Summer 2 - Year 1)**

 

Riley fixed her hat, glancing at her already large farm that seemed to have something new on it every other day. Her funds were doing pretty okay for the start of the new season, maybe she could treat herself to Gus’ really good homemade pizza. Though she had other plans today, she was going to go and enjoy the beach. Giving Noctis a quick pat, she was off to the beach in the gentle summer breeze. Riley rarely went to the beach last season, unless she needed to catch something or chat with Willy, now that the weather is nicer she was going to be down here a lot more. 

She quickly arrived at the beach, going through Marine’s Ranch rather than taking the usual way that she would get to town. Though she wasn’t expecting Alex to be there too, down by the water’s edge. Riley slowly approached, standing next to Alex. Neither of them said anything at first. 

“Um, Hi… Riley?” Alex asked, surprising Riley that he got her name correct on the first try.

“Hi, Alex,” she greeted back, smiling a bit, feeling pretty great about finally being known by name. 

“I’m just here to enjoy this great weather,”]

“So am I,”

Silence came over them, they were watching the ocean crash along the shore. This was the most interaction the two had had in a long time since the Egg Festival. Maybe the couple of ‘hello’s’ if they ran into each other, but that was about it. Finally, Alex turned to Riley, grinning. 

“Go long!” he said, his voice bright at the wonderful idea. 

Riley did as she was told, backing up a little bit before Alex tossed the gridball, this time surprising him when she caught it and tossed it right back at him, with perfect form. Alex actually stumbled a bit before he held the gridball in both hands correctly. 

“Um, you know how to play?” Alex asked, very curious about what was just shown to him. 

“Captain of the girls gridball team in school,” Riley shared, blushing a bit at sharing that light fact. 

“That’s awesome!” he said, tossing the ball back to her, beginning their game of catch. “I lead my team to regionals, now I’m training my way to get on the roster of the Zuzu City Tunnelers, so, just wait, I’ll be the first professional from Stardew!” 

Riley caught and tossed it back to Alex. “Then I’ll be cheering you on,” she said, smiling at him. “But for now, I’ll help you with your tosses and teach you a few tricks,” 

“Oh, really?” 

“Really.” 

The pair continued tossing the gridball about, telling each other stories about each of their high school days. Their schools actually competed against each other a lot it seemed, Riley was actually recalling seeing Alex the more stories he shared, and it seemed he was recalling Riley too, much to her embarrassment. She would yell so much at those games to get the boys asses in gear because they were getting way too cocky. Alex wasn’t a mean jock either, he truly cared about his team, she was actually really glad that she didn’t scare Alex too much back then once he started remembering this really passionate girl in the bleachers. 

They spent most of the day on the beach, Evelyn came and brought them lunch when she heard from Elliot that they were here together. They had only grown more comfortable with each other now they shared the same interest and just spending time passing a gridball back and forth. Riley was actually grateful for her trip to the beach today, it wasn’t as lonely as she thought it would be. 

Once the sun began setting, the two of them knew it was time to head home. Alex walked with Riley, he was taking her back to the farm, and she couldn’t change his mind. Their conversation was slowly coming to a close the closer they got to the farm, Riley was actually wishing they could just stay up all night talking about whatever. Though they didn’t need a repeat of the Egg Festival again this season. 

 

**(Summer 5 - Year 1)**

 

Riley was out with Abigail, Sam and Sebastian, dipping their feet in at the mountain lake, a bit from Sebastian's house. The weather was nice nothing overly insane had yet to happen. Other than maybe Abigail giving Riley a hard time.

“Seriously, I’m on my way home and I see Riley coming from the beach and she isn’t alone; Alex is with her and they’re chatting away about what looked like the most interesting thing in the world,” Abigail explained, having both of Sam’s and Sebastian’s attention at the news. 

“Okay, Riley is nice, and Alex probably didn’t get her name correct,” Sam said, totally trying to debunk Abigail’s story. 

“Nope, he actually said my name right,” Riley threw in, kicking her feet in the water a little bit. “He even apologized for getting it wrong.” 

“Alex actually was conversing with you?” Sam questioned, still not believing it. 

“That’s not the craziest thing yet,” Abigail stated, leaning in closer to them. “Alex tossed his gridball at Riley… And she caught it.” 

“NO! When did you ever play gridball!?” Sam exclaimed, his attention on Riley.

“Sam, it’s literally on Riley’s TumbleSpace that she was the Captain of the girls gridball team back in high school,” Sebastian informed, taking out a cigarette, beginning to smoke. “Alex and Riley found common ground and they’re using it.”

Riley didn’t think that it was a huge deal that Alex and herself had a day together out on the beach, it was just a nice day and passing a gridball back and forth was nice. Made Riley feel good, actually relaxed for once. 

“You played gridball?” Sam questioned, now confused that he was just hearing this for the first time ever.

“I was in High School,” Riley said, thinking back to her high school days. “I needed a sport to do. Track and Field just had all my fake friends, and it was something my parents always pushed for. I remember thinking I watch a lot of gridball, and playing it in gym class, so I just thought maybe I should give it a try… It was just a lot better than I thought and just stuck with it through high school, I was actually getting trained after graduation for a little bit there to go professional for the women’s team… But mainly it was the only time my parents really paid attention to me.” 

They all fell silent, looking over the lake like there was nothing really talk about anymore, thought the topic of parents was a sensitive topic for all of them, all with their own issues. Riley’s parents were successful in their respected fields of work, making Riley pressured to be something more than her parents, they always were teaching her to network than make friends, become this successful person for their family long line of amazing people; Riley wasn’t that, she wanted a regular family. She wanted to be a normal child. It was only when she came to the valley that she freed herself from those chains, that was all that she could do was distance herself from her family to just feel something. Sam’s mother; Jody, was constantly trying to keep herself busy because Sam’s father; Kent, was out fighting in the war. Vincent; Sam’s younger brother, was trying not to notice, but he knew, it was obvious that he did, but Vincent wanted to be strong for his mom, not to worry her even more than she already was. Abigail’s were so locked in the past that Abigail spent many nights just at Riley’s because she listens to Abigail rather than just talking over her to get her to be a lady that she clearly isn’t, at least she was in this day and age. Riley really doesn’t agree with Pierre’s and Caroline’s parenting, but at least Caroline was more understanding than Pierre was, hopefully, the two will finally listen to Abigail in the future. Sebastian was the child of Robin’s previous marriage, and that at times can cause issues for new relationships in the future, but Demetrius seems fine with it, at least he was before Maru came into the picture, at least that’s what Riley was picking up on with the information she had gotten so far, and just from witnessing interactions. It was very clear that Demetrius favors Maru over Sebastian anyways, and Robin loves both of her children dearly, though tends to pay a little more attention to Maru in what she’s doing than Sebastian’s self work he’s been doing for so long now. They all had different stories, their different problems with family, but they kind of brought them closer together and make their own family. 

“We are a depressing bunch,” Riley voiced, earning laughs from the others. “Are you guys going to the Luau?” 

“Have to,” all three replied, following closely by sounds of displeasure. 

Riley laughed herself, smiling widely at them. “Hey, I do too, got no choice,” 

Abigail and Sam both shoved Riley into the lake, she quickly came back to the surface, grabbing Sebastian's legs for help before she grabbed the front of his shirt, yanking him in as well. Seeing that all of them were just going to be getting into the water at this point by the looks of it, Sam just jumped in by his own free will, giving Sebastian and Riley time to slip under the water so they could sneak up on Abigail, grabbing her hands and pulling her in to join them as well. The four of them began splashing each other, playing around, unknown to them, Alex was watching from a distance, waiting on Robin to back to his grandparent’s house with him to fix an issue that had been there for a while, just need to do some cleaning before they let Robin come to fix it. Riley was smiling and laughing with her friends, he was kind of jealous that they had her laughing. She never really laughed when she was around him, there were smiles directed at him, and they made Alex feel warm, but he never had a laugh directed at him, but just hearing her laugh from a distance, he felt himself smile. With the feeling of being watched, Riley had looked over to where Alex was, catching his attention; he just waved, but he wasn’t expecting her to climb out of the lake to come over to him. 

“Hey, what’s up?” Riley questioned, hoping he wasn’t look for her this entire time. 

“Oh, um, waiting for Robin, something broke at the house,” Alex said, seeing her clothes cling to her body as she rung out her hair, he needed to remind himself to just look at her face. 

“Ah, okay, I was worried you had been looking for me,” Riley said, softly laughing out of relief. “Well, I would invite you to join us, but you’ll probably be helping Robin,” 

Alex could only nod, Robin was going to need the help if she wanted to get it done quickly, it was a small job too, nothing that he couldn’t help with. “I wish I could, it looks like a good time,” 

Riley smiles at Alex. “Then I’ll catch you next time,” she waved to Alex before rushing back to the lake and jumping in. 

Alex was about to follow after her, but Robin had finally a merged from her house with the tools and items she needed. He followed after Robin, but glanced back to Riley; who now sat upon Sam’s shoulders, trying to push Abigail into the water, who rested upon Sebastian’s shoulders. A season already passed, Alex still really liked Riley. It was a crush, but he didn’t wish to push his luck, the feelings would pass soon, they always did. Catching up to Robin, Alex decided to busy himself on other task. When those two were out of sight, Sam spoke teasingly.

“So, you and Alex seem cozy,” commented, wiggling his eyebrows at Sebastian and Abigail, indicating he was ready to begin teasing Riley once again. 

“He usually comes to the farm for food items,” Riley replied, casually, not bothered yet. 

“Are you sure he isn’t just going up there to see you?” Abigail asked, very curious about Riley’s personal thoughts. 

Now, that made Riley pause. Recalling any time that Alex came up to the farm, he never said that it was for Evelyn, he also would stay and chat with riley for a decent amount of time as well, Noctis also took a real shining to Alex as well. Did Alex really like her? But he had to be dating Haley, they are always together… Until recently, Alex seems to enjoy being on the farm as of late.

“You okay, Riley? You got really pale,” Sebastian questioned, helping Abigail off his shoulders. 

“Is Alex cheating on Haley with me? Or acting like that’s the case?” Riley asked aloud, quickly being removed from Sam’s shoulders to be placed on the bank to keep her from falling into the water and drowning herself. “Like, I mean, Alex wouldn’t be that low… Would he? He’s really nice, is that just a tactic to fool me?” 

“Oh Yoba, you’re still on that?” Abigail said, biting her lip to keep her from laughing. “They aren’t going out, Emily literally cornered and called Haley out about it at the Egg Festival, I’m surprised nobody told you yet,” 

Riley sat on the bank of the lake, she blinked a few times, yet the information wasn’t clicking in. “Bu, they are like the IT couple… At least that would work back in Zuzu…” 

“Nope, they’re just really good friends, Haley values friendship too much,” Abigail said, giving some information that she had from Emily. “I’m betting you’re growing on Alex though, especially with how much he hangs out with you,” 

Silence still came from Riley, they were watching her face for any reaction, but there was only a gentle smile that formed when everything began to sink in at last. 

“Well, I’ll be…Alex has grown on Riley it would seem as well,” Sebastian stated, understanding such a smile that Riley had grown. 

Abigail and Sam looked at each other, before looking back to Riley; who became red in the face with Sebastian easily pointing out that so quickly. “When is the wedding going to happen?” Sam asked, a shit eating grin on his face. 

Riley easily shoved Sam backwards into the water, getting Sebastian and Abigail to laugh. Riley jumped back in, splashing her friends out of retaliation that they knew her feels too well already. Yet, it was all true, Alex had grown on her, but Alex was something else entirely since coming into her life. A crush would be an accurate way to label what she was feeling towards the green-eyed boy. Truthfully, when was the last time she had a crush on a person that wasn’t after the money? A very long time it felt, but this feeling had made her feel like a girl thanks to Alex warming up to her. Riley swam out deeper in the lake to enjoy the summer sun, because who knew when the next thunderstorm would roll in. 


	4. Thunderous Feelings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, I've been gone for a while, just working on other things for a while now, but I am hopefully going to be focusing on my writing and I will be posting more. Depending on mood, some stories might end up getting updated more than others, but hopefully, I might actually finish a couple of the fanfictions on here.

**Chapter Four: Thunderous Feelings  
** **(Summer 8 - Year 1)**

Thunder was still going strong when Riley ventured out of her house to bring Evelyn some items that Riley had. She was already soaked when she got off her porch since she did not have proper rain items to go out in. Walking through the heavy rain, she easily started to make a mental list of items she was going to need for next year. Farming was hard yet it truly helped to do this all solely as well. Trudging through the sheets of rain some more, Riley saw Alex outside, standing by the dog pen, she was about to run up, only to pause. Even with how loud the rain was, Riley could hear the words coming from Alex.

“Dusty… Ever since coming to the valley, after all, we went through, I’m feeling still so out of place, kind of misunderstood, maybe that last bit is my fault,” Alex said, resting his head against the fence. “I guess maybe I need to be more social…But it’s so hard when you don’t really know much else, and the fear that you’ll be judged by your lack of knowledge…” 

Carefully, Riley approached, suddenly feeling pretty guilty about just listening in like that on such a personal thought as that. Coming up behind Alex, she gently rested a hand against his shoulder, it still caused Alex to jump, but he relaxed almost instantly when he saw that it was Riley, only to grow mildly panicked in his eyes. 

“Ri-Riley, did you hear any of that?” Alex asked, just staring at her with wide eyes. 

“Yeah, but I was worried about you, you’re soaking wet,” Riley said, giving Alex’s shoulder a squeeze, causing water to run down her arm with how much of the rain had soaked into his clothes. 

“So, are you,” Alex said, finally taking notice that Riley wasn’t wearing a jacket, only a flannel. “You’re going to end up getting sick.” 

“Alex… Are you okay?” Riley asked, just ignoring Alex’s skill of attempting a topic change. 

Riley saw the downcast look suddenly take over his eyes, scaring her enough to hold Alex’s cold hand. Alex looked at their hands locked together, he felt comfort from just something so simple. He could trust Riley. 

“Do you ever wonder why I live with my grandparents?” Alex asked, wanting to know where Riley stood on that. 

“I’ve wondered, but I never dwelled on it,” she said, watching Alex, wondering where he was going with it.

“... It’s my dad, he’s the reason why,” he stated, his eyes becoming hard at the mention of his father. “He ruined everything for my mom and I. Half of the time he was gone… The other half he’d be home, drinking all the time, calling me worthless, that nothing I would do would amount to anything.” 

“Alex..” 

“No, please, I want to tell you this, Riley,” Alex stopped her, really looking at her, showing her many of his emotions. “Personally, I think he resented me for my youth, bitter because he’s wasted his time doing nothing, causing him to go nowhere… But really, who truly knows what anyone is thinking, I just want to think that way,” 

Riley stepped closer, resting her head gently on Alex’s shoulder. Hearing this from Alex, it hurt her heart, it made her sick of what Alex’s father did to his mother behind Alex’s back. There was more to them then she thought, actually, Alex would fit in with herself and the others. If issues, but found among each other. Alex rested his head on Riley’s, just looking ahead, at the grade on the wood. 

“Then he just left, one day he just never came back,” he continued, his voice gentle, not his normal voice, but it was something sad. “Not soon after, mom got sick, and I never saw her that sick before… then she just wasn’t there anymore, she was gone. I thought I blinked because it happened so fast. She was gone, and I was too young to live on my own, so, I moved in with my grandparents.” 

Riley shifted her head towards Alex, wanting to look at him better before she spoke. “You should hang out with me and the others, because truthfully… you’d be surprised at what keeps us so close, and you can rely on me- us.” 

Alex looked at Riley, she was mirroring Alex’s pain, she felt want he felt. “Let me think about it, I trust you, but I’ve barely interacted with those three…”

“I’ll let them know that it might be a thing,” Riley said, reaching up and brushing Alex’s wet bangs from his face. “They’ll like you, trust me.” 

Alex nodded, reaching over to brush Riley’s bangs from her face as well before remembering something. He straightened up, letting go of her hand to look through his pockets. Riley raised an eyebrow in wonder until Alex found whatever she was looking for. He turned himself to face Riley before he began to mess with her bangs until clipping something in her hair.

“There, I saw it at the flower dance, and you’re always brushing your bangs from your face,” Alex said, brushing your bangs from your face,” Alex said, smiling to himself at how good it looks. “It’s a daisy hair clip, and I wanted to give it to you soon, but it kept slipping my mind.” 

Riley smiled at Alex, reminding herself to not say anything stupid. “I love it, Alex… Thank you,” 

“Let’s get you inside,” Alex said, taking her had to lead her in, even taking the bag she had. “Oh, you brought Abuela’s stuff, thanks,” 

“Alex, are you part Spaniard?” Riley asked, noticing that Alex said ‘abuela’ again.

“Yeah, Abuela is,” he said, smiling sheepishly at Riley. “I didn’t know you spoke Spanish,” 

“Took it in school,” she said, smiling back. “But I’m fluent, due to traveling,” 

Alex opened the door, ushering Riley inside and coming in himself. Alex easily took off his jacket, and even took Riley’s flannel, before running to the bathroom.

“Alex, don’t run in the house, please,” Evelyn said, coming from the kitchen. 

“Sorry, Abuela, getting a towel for Riley! Alex called down the hall, sounding he was in search of something. 

“Riley?” Evelyn wondered aloud, before looking towards the door. Riley shyly waved, making the grandmother shuffle to her and guide her deeper into the house. “Oh, dear, get in here, you’re soaked to the bone.” 

Riley kicked off her boots, not wishing to track mud into the house. Evelyn was taking her down the hall where Alex rushed down earlier, he finally merged from a door that leads to a bedroom; Alex’s room. “Oh, thanks, Abuela,” 

“Alex, can you get her a dry shirt?” Evelyn asked, frowning a little out of worry.

“Already did that, can I have Riley come with me?” Alex asked, wrapping a towel around Riley, resting his hands on her shoulders. 

“Sure, dear, make sure she dries most of her hair,” 

“I will, your stuff from Riley is at the front door,” 

Evelyn smiled at the two of them, leaving them alone, Alex brought Riley into his room, closing the door behind them. 

“Just take a seat on my chair, I’ll dry your hair,” Alex said, pulling out his desk chair.

Riley took a seat before Alex removed her tie to let her hair down, and the hair clip he got her. Taking the towel in his hands, he took his time to dry her hair, not trying to miss a part. Riley relaxed a lot more then she had thought possible when being in her crushes room. He was also was willingly drying her hair for her. Even got her a shirt to borrow. They were silent, letting Alex do his thing, but maybe that’s because they don’t really know how to start a normal conversation after something so heavy. Maybe it was a good idea to start somewhere calm. 

“I didn’t know Dusty was your dog,” Riley brought up, something random, but true. “I always thought he was Gus’,”

“Nope, he’s mine, mom got him a little after I became four,” Alex shared, pausing with his hair drying. “I’ve never seen your hair down before.” 

“After I started playing gridball, I realized I could finally keep my hair long,” she started but laughed a little at how silly this was going to sound. “But I got into the habit of having my hair up, it goes to the point that I was picky about how my hair was done for parties.” 

Alex laughed as well at her words, but for a different reason. “Never heard you say something so delicate before,” 

“I have my moments,” she said, smiling. 

Alex thought of something before he said it. “I went as a unicorn for Spirit’s Eve one year as a child,” Alex began sharing. “Abuela and Abuelo had come up, my father was home; he really didn’t like my choice, thankfully, Abuelo told my father to not make me cry,” 

“I knew George wasn’t always cranky,” Riley voiced, looking over her shoulder to Alex, who seemed to be very interested in her hair. “Alex, are you okay? Did talking about your father make you uncomfortable?”

Alex shook his head, letting go of her hair. “No, just talking about it feels nice,” 

“Don’t you talk to Haley about this?” 

“I couldn’t, I told her my mother passed, but I never opened up to her as I did to you, she would… Haley would feel sorry for me, I don’t want that,” Riley wanted to say more but Alex held up a hand to tell her not to. “Haley is a good friend, but she’s still pure and doesn’t need to be burdened with it right now… Now, you need to get out of that wet shirt.” 

Alex moved around Riley in the chair, heading to his bed to grab one of the shirts and the hoodie he laid out. That was probably what he was looking for, something to warm Riley up so she wouldn’t become sick. He came back over to her and held out the articles of clothing to her. She stood up to take the items, resting them on the back of the chair, only to reach down to pull her shirt off, earning a strangled noise from Alex. 

“Wh-What are you doing!?” Alex questioned, his frantically trying to look anywhere but Riley.

“Have you never seen a girl in a sports bra?” Riley asked, holding her wet tank top in her arms. 

“A sports bra?” Alex finally looked at Riley. She held a slightly amused smile, hair partly dry framed her face in a way that made her seem younger and playful. Glancing lower, Riley had strong shoulders, but they were soft, and her arms were tone and tan, but this was his stop. Unaware what the color scheme to her bra matched Alex’s jacket that now hung by the door; green and yellow. 

“I know, doesn’t it seem weird? It’s a bra, but I can wear it in public,” Riley said, laughing, poking at the bra a little. “Sorry, I’m never this forward.” 

Riley pulled the t-shirt on that Alex gave her. Alex gave himself that chance to look more; seeing that toned stomach, her tanned skin that was darker from working on the farm, but she was also naturally tan as well. But the transition between the two shades seemed natural. He finally brought his eyes back up. She adjusted herself within the shirt, finally looking back to Alex, he was kind of just standing there. 

“Okay, I am so sorry, you’re probably feeling awkward,” Riley stated, biting her lip. Why was she always doing things without fully thinking her actions through? 

“No! No, no, no,” Alex said quickly, shaking his head, his face obviously flustered from just making things seem awkward when really weren’t. “Maybe I’m surprised, but it’s not awkward.” 

Riley was about to say something before the knock on the door came, Evelyn poked her head in. “Dinner is ready if you’re hungry,” she informed, smiling warmly at the pair. 

“We’ll be out there soon, Abuela,” Alex said, waving at Evelyn. “I’m just going to make sure that Riley is warm.” 

“Sure thing, dearie,” Evelyn said, backing out of the door, closing it again. 

Alex reached around Riley, grabbing the hoodie from the back of the chair and helped Riley out the oversized hoodie. It was rather big on her, just hiding her in the cotton softness. It was really cute. “Aren’t you going to change? You’re still wet,” Riley pointed out, poking at his shirt. 

“Right,” he said, turning around, stripping the wet cloth from his body. 

Riley was going to turn around, but seeing his back, she kind of hid her face more into the hoodie. Her face was obviously flustered at the very strong back Alex had obviously worked very hard on. Sure, she’s been exposed to this her entire life, but the feelings she’s been developing for Alex these past few weeks, it really got to her just seeing him shirtless. It also didn’t help that he chose to wear the tightest shirt she’s ever seen him in. It framed his body perfectly with the cottony softness, Riley just wanted to rest her head there and wrap her arms tightly around him. 

Giving her head a good shake, looking around for something else to focus on, anything else to focus on than Alex’s back, though she did peek at him when he was done, only the flag over his head had been the reason he hadn’t moved, it seemed interesting. At least to him, he seemed a little flustered.

“You okay, Alex?” Riley questioned, leaning forward a little bit, but at the same time, she wasn’t that oblivious as to why he was probably flustered or green eyes slightly lost on the flag. 

He became startled by her voice; Riley seemed to be getting pretty good at getting him to react. He mumbling something on the lines of that he was fine while exiting his room, weakly waving his hand for her to follow. Normally, Riley would just wave things like this off with someone saying that they were fine, yet she had a feeling that she might have overstepped a little bit with her being a little too forward… Something that she didn’t really need right now. 

Lunch was sort of awkward, Alex and Riley both attempting to lighten the mood with different topics, only to fall short on both accounts. Alex offered to walk Riley home, but she came up with the excuse that she needed to talk to Sebastian about the group adventure game they were currently running through, the portion they were doing might need a backup character to be made because it was actually a pretty difficult dungeon at the moment. 

She did exactly that too, seeing as she was already out and it would probably be better to talk to Sebastian in person instead of through instant messaging on the phone or the computer. Thankfully Abigail and Sam were there as well, all three of them working on a song for their band. They were all confused as to why she was there and another more deeper look of confusion when they noticed clothes that very much belonged to Alex. This made Abigail excited about the possible improvement that had probably just happened. 

“So, how good was he?” Abigail questioned, bouncing over to Riley, taking ahold of her arm and dragging her over to the couch and pretty much shoving her onto the furniture. 

“How good was…?” Riley was beginning to the purple haired girl's question, but she finally caught onto the meaning, Riley’s face shot up in brightness, the reddest she’s probably ever been in a while. “Abby! We didn’t fuck!” 

“But you’re in his clothes,” she pointed out, dropping down onto the seat cushion next to Riley, pulling at the sleeve of the green hoodie her friend wore. 

“Because I was soaked, there was a storm outside!” Riley stated, playing with the hoodie now, looking everywhere but towards Abigail, Sam, and Sebastian. “Why is this the topic of conversation anyway?” 

“Well, you like him, and you get along with him,” Sebastian reminded her, pulling out a lollipop, making Riley raise an eyebrow in question. “...I ran out of smokes at the moment.” 

“Ah,” Riley replied, before Sam grabbed her face and made her turn it to face him, cheeks mushed in his hands.

“Where did the daisy clip come from?” Sam asked a shit eating grin on his face. 

Abigail and Sebastian looked at the clip, gaining their own grins at this very exciting finding. “Oh, he really likes you,” Abigail declared, clapping her hands together. “You need to start making some moves on him!”

Riley sighed, so much for trying to not have a conversation about Alex when it was clearly obvious that she was with him. She truly didn’t think her excuses through… Fool. 


	5. I Believe In You

**Chapter Five: I Believe In You  
** **(Summer 10 - Year 1)**

Riley welcomed the endless sun after the thunderstorm, the morning light the next day was a good thing, like Alex appearing to the farm to help out as an apology for getting awkward. Apparently, she was the first girl that he ever gave a serious gift to, it was a big step for him. They spent the entire day on the farm, then he grabbed take out from the Saloon for lunch and dinner, not letting her pay a cent. Abigail caught wind of it pretty quick, and Riley’s instant messages blew up all night about the farm date. 

Today, Riley decided to take a break from the farming, it was pretty much automated anyways, so, it was her day off and she was going to treat herself to some ice cream, or that was the plan before Sam dragged her away from her mission; very angry, it was coming off the blonde in waves. 

“Whoa, what happened?” Riley asked, seeing that he was taking her to the beach. 

“Haley,” he sheathed, not looking at her. “And I saw you coming, Alex doesn’t need to see you in a negative light.” 

Riley was even more confused with Sam’s words than his silent anger. What did Haley do to invoke Sam’s wrath? Normally, Haley was pretty neutral with everyone outside of Alex and Emily, for her to bring out Sam’s worse side, she must have said something that triggered this side of Sam this badly. And for Sam to save Alex from the backlash, he brought Riley away, saying that she would have reacted negatively. She felt a mess coming along behind her. 

The two at them took a seat at the end of the pier, letting Sam have a few moments before he started properly explaining. “I was going to get a popsicle for myself…And Haley was telling Alex what she heard about the war. I kept my mouth shut because Alex was in a conversation, so, I waited,” Sam explained, actually looking rather uncomfortable at the moment. “Then she said that this war is just over the need in resources, and I told her that it wasn’t the case at all, the Empire wants more land, they know we’ll share out goods if they ask. We got into an argument, that’s when I noticed you, and I took my chance to leave, and save you from screaming Haley down into the ground.” 

“And Alex?” 

“Looking awkward as fuck,” Sam said, laughing a little bit. 

Sighing, Riley shook her head, actually not surprised by recent events. She felt kind of bad for Alex, but he needed to be exposed to this kind thing, not everyone will agree to everything, and he learns that the war is a bit of a sensitive topic for Sam. 

“Are you going to talk about it with Alex?” Sam asked, seeing the look on Riley’s face. “About what just happened?” 

“Maybe, if he asks,” she replied, patting her friend’s back. “You stay down here for as long as you need to, I’m off for my icy treat.” 

Sam nodded his head, waving goodbye to her as she got up and hiked her way back to the ice cream stand; only Alex there looking very out of place, but he sparked up at the sight of Riley.

“Is Sam okay?” Alex asked in a soft voice, still off-put by the fight that happened before him. 

“Yeah, he’ll be fine, he just gets heated when that’s a topic of interest…” Riley explained, glancing around the area, waiting for Haley to appear. “No Haley?” 

“...I asked her to go home, I saw Penny had to usher Vincent back into the museum,” he said, surprising Riley with his actions. Alex was really coming out of his shell. “I don’t want Vincent to see anyone in a bad light. Some people are just misinformed because they worry.”

Riley nodded her head. She uses to play the innocent and hopeful girl at charity events for the families that missed their loved ones. Now that she was away from such things, she understood that fear and worry. Any of the men in this town would end up drafted if they military called for it… That would mean Alex for sure. He was perfect. This was also a thought that never came to mind until now. 

“Um… How’s the stand?” Riley asked, jumping from the previous topic before the worrying became worse and her rambling began. 

“Pretty good, everyone comes here several times a day,” Alex said, then pulled out a cone. “I guess you came here for ice cream before Sam lead you away?” 

“Yeah, I’m treating myself to a cold sweet treat,” she confirmed, rocking on her heels. “Two scoops of vanilla ice cream please!” 

Alex chuckled, scooping Riley a nice two scoop cone. He handed it to her, she happily took if from Alex, taking out the coins and handed it to Alex. He placed the coins in his coin chest and he wasn’t expecting to turn Riley eating ice cream into something sexual. She had an elegant tongue… Talented… Especially when she licked at the drips that fell down the cone… Why did it have to be vanilla ice cream? Riley caught Alex watching her so intently. 

“You okay? Do you want a cone?” she asked, now taking her time to eat her ice cream, worried that the heat was going to cause him to faint. 

Alex frantically shook his head, clearing his throat. “I’m fine, just kind of zoned out there… Does Sam anything? On the house.” He offered, his hands moving around a little bit, not sure what exactly what the blonde would want or what he was originally here for. 

“A popsicle, he’ll be happy with that,” Riley said, leaning against the counter. 

Alex went to the other freezer, off to the side, he looked at what he had and thought about what would be the best one to give to Sam. He grabbed the biggest one he had, holding it out to Riley, she took it, impressed, nodding to him. 

“Thanks, Alex,” she said, holding up the frozen treat. “Make sure you drink water,” 

Riley waved, heading on her way back to the Beach to bring Sam his treat, and Alex returned the wave, a small one of his own, watching her go. He felt like, in this current moment, that he just wasn’t good enough for her. She was running a farm all on her own, and he only runs the ice cream stand during the summer… He focused too much on Gridball, maybe he should be thinking about a backup plan, a Plan B, and yet, that felt wrong, giving up on his dream, something that he’s been chasing after since he was a child. To be apart of the Zuzu City Tunnelers was a dream, and he wanted to make the Valley proud. But, a Plan B would be good too… Something to keep his grandparents from worrying about him too much… Riley too. 

Alex groaned, his hands coming up to rub at his face. That was too soon to even be thinking like that. This was all just a crush, and it was going to pass. It had to be passing soon. These feelings were making everything very hard to do, especially conversing with Riley, it always got awkward after a few days and he felt he was being rude. It also didn’t help that when Riley wasn’t around either that she was always on his mind. This crush really needed to pass because he knew it was going to… He kind of hoped that it would sooner rather than later before he acted upon his feelings. 

 

**> >> <<< **

 

Riley had returned back to the Beach, Sam was still chilling at the end of the pier. She took a seat back in her original spot next to Sam, offering him the popsicle. “From Alex,” 

Sam took the offering, unwrapping the cold treat, and taking a bite from it, making Riley flinch at such an action. Just watching him do that made her teeth ache. “At least he’s not a muscle head,” he commented, placing the wrapper in his pocket, wanting to do his part to keep the Beach clean. 

“Ouch, then that would make me a damn muscle head too, you know,” Riley said, licking more of her ice creaming, kind of sad that she almost finished it already. “He sent Haley away because he saw Vincent, he didn’t want your brother to be influenced to hate people,” 

Sam smiled a thankful look on his face, a much better look for him than his angry face. “You really need to romance that boy,”

Riley sighed, shaking her head. “I just moved here. Give me some time to figure things out first...:”

It was Sam’s turn to sigh, but he didn’t push the topic any further. The two of them continued to eat their frosty treats together, watching the fish swim under their feet. This was a good way to let Sam chill out, especially after everything with Haley. Probably be best to let Emily know about it as well, this way the blue-haired sister didn’t blow up later at the blonde sister after finding out about her behavior at a later time. Riley would do that for Sam at least. Maybe she’ll even make lunch for Alex as thanks for being mindful of Vincent… That act alone made Riley have hope that Alex would make for an excellent father, better than his own. 

Riley choked on the piece of her cone that she took a bite from, shaking her head a little at the thought. That was a weird thought, that came with an equally as weird image. Oh, okay, Riley was crushing on Alex in an elementary school way, which was awful. Sam patted her back, but she waved him off, Riley did not want to talk about that with Sam, not now and not ever. 

But was it really that terrible to think Alex would be a wonderful father to their children?

 

**(Summer 11 - Year 1; _Luau_ )**

 

Took about a couple of days but Riley was pretty close to getting her house upgrade, and her garden looked wonderful now with the stone fence and the stone path she placed in during these last four days. Many trips to the Mines were made, but they left her with something special like always and it was just a good workout. She made a note that it was probably about time that she started to get animals as well. Probably start with chickens, easy birds to take care of as well, and she could work her way up from there. 

Looking at the time, Riley slipped back into her cabin to clean up. The Luau was happening today, and she saved her best potatoes for this. Already peeled and cut, she wasn’t making anyone work today, especially with the Governor in town. 

Not like Mayor Lewis hasn’t been making a huge deal out of this for weeks now whenever anyone went to have a chat with him, or just ran into him. 

Riley changed into shorts and a t-shirt, slipping on sandals before grabbing the heavy bin of potatoes from the table before making her way out. Noctis was running around the open farm, not too bothered with Riley leaving, and he was a good enough dog to stay on the farm as well, so she wasn’t worried about leaving him out until she got back. She decided to leave the farm like she was going to Marine’s taking that way with the bin was probably quicker than her going the usual way into town if she was like going to Pierre’s. With it being quicker, she got to the Beach at a decent time, and it wasn’t long before the bin was taken from her hands' thanks to Alex appearing from nowhere. 

“Can’t have you hurting yourself, farmer girl,” Alex said, a nickname sticking to her now at random by his will. He brought the bin over to the insanely large pot and started to slowly dump the potatoes into the soup while Marine stirred. “How is the farm?”

Riley followed Alex, watching him deal with the potatoes for her. “Good, I finally finished placing in the paths and putting up the fence, it was a lot of work, but it’s done for now thankfully… maybe someday soon I’ll expand the garden… Probably after I start getting my animal situation dealt with.” 

Alex had texted Riley last night after Sam had finally cooled off enough to head up to Sebastian to go and do their bro thing. Riley had just gotten home when Alex had texted her and started up a really interesting conversation, he was actually really interested in what she was doing up there on the farm. Alex had also apparently gone to Haley’s after he closed the stand a little earlier than normal, Haley apparently was too busy to come to talk to Alex, Riley had also told Alex that she told Emily about what happened and Haley was probably working on an apology to Sam. 

“Oh? Animals? What kind?” he asked, making sure all the potatoes made it in before he rested the bin next to the pot. 

“I was thinking chickens to start,” she replied, leading Alex to the punch, rather thirsty from her morning work and finishing up the path. “Then we’ll see… Not too sure yet.” 

Alex nodded his head in understanding, she really had a lot of work to do, but she seemed happy about it. “Well, whatever you plan to do, it will be amazing,” 

“Thanks,” Riley said, touch by the compliment, taking a sip of the punch. 

Alex took a sip of his punch, glancing towards the dance floor, Haley was dancing by herself. Jas and Vincent were dancing too, just like the children they were, having fun. Emily was doing her own funky moves. Robin and Demetrius were dancing… it was coming off rather awkwardly though; Robin was fully committed to it, relaxed and having a good time, but Demetrius seemed to be looking at it all a little too closely, so he was rather tense and not going with the movements at all. He brought his attention back to Riley again, just smiling softly at her. She was looking relaxed and comfortable, and that daisy hair clip he gave her in her hair looked really cute and it made him proud in an odd way. 

“Is something in my hair?” Riley asked, noticing Alex’s gaze had returned to her. 

“Nope, it’s just nice to see the clip is being used,” he said, sipping at his punch, being a little bashful. 

Riley smiled shyly, sipping at her punch as well. “I really like it, I never really found a clip I liked… or did work really allow it.” 

“Oh, where did you work before coming to the Valley?” he asked, interested to hear more about her life before her move to the Valley. 

“Joja Corporation, terrible desk job,” she told him, grabbing a chip to eat from the table. “I finally left after too many sleepless nights,” 

“I heard Joja was terrible, but I didn’t think it was that bad,” he said, now looking for any past trauma that could still be affecting her and clearly visible… but there wasn’t really anything he could really see. 

“Hey, at least it was close to my favorite little restaurant; made my favorites like Fried Calamari, and Crab Cakes… man, I miss them,” Riley praised, mouth kind of watering as she remembered the flavors. 

“...I miss my mom’s Salmon Dinner, it’s been forever it only tastes the best with fresh salmon,” Alex reminisced, thinking of the last time his mom had a chance to make it for him. “Abuela has tried to make it, but it never tastes the same because of the salmon being fresh.” 

Riley had thought then, Alex’s birthday was in two days… it was also rare to catch salmon right now, but if she focused on that task, she probably could catch a salmon. It was a perfect way to thank him with everything. Jodi would probably let Riley borrow her kitchen if she asked, Riley was also going to need to ask Evelyn for the recipe, and Riley will make sure that she catches and freezes a load of salmon this fall for Evelyn and hopefully make more Salmon Dinner for Alex. 

“Maybe in fall I can catch all the salmon,” Riley offered, not saying anything about her secret plans.

Alex fully looked at her, then started to use his free hand to search his pockets.”Hey, let me find my wallet-”

Riley rested her drink on the table, then grabbed Alex’s hand, holding it tightly. “Again, I’m giving back to the community,” she said, reminding him of when he first came up to the farm for something. 

“Riley, you are too good for me- for this town,” he said, backpedaling with that, but he squeezed her hand in return. “But maybe that’s exactly what this town needs right now…” 

Riley felt a very flustered feeling arriving on her face and thankfully Abigail, Sam, and Sebastian came to her rescue. “Hey, you made it! And I see Alex has stolen you away~” Abigail teased, holding Riley’s arm, looking at the green-eyed male before him.

“Ah, sorry! I didn’t mean to take up so much of her time,” Alex apologized, taking his hand away from Riley’s. 

“No worries, we’re just happy that she’s making friends,” Sebastian said, patting her back, and Riley felt her friends teasing aura. 

“You should hang out with us someday,” Sam suggested, wrapping an arm around Alex’s shoulder.

Alex seemed surprised at the offer, but it made him warm that they wanted to hang out with him. Riley smiled at Alex, and he inwardly swooned since it was directed at him, and sure, his feelings weren’t like this yesterday. “Yeah, that would be great,” he agreed, kind of focused on just Riley, which didn’t go unnoticed by the three around them. But there was a fourth from the dance floor that watched from the distance.

 

**(Summer 13 - Year 1)**

 

Riley got really lucky this morning, she finally caught a salmon before going to Sam’s house to cook. Jodi welcomed her and went about making brunch for everyone, even Riley too if the girl wanted anything. Sam had woken a little bit after his mother left for Perrie’s for some kind of class with Caroline. The first thing he did was make sure that Riley wasn’t burning anything, but he was impressed by how good the food looked in the pan. 

“Wow, you really caught a salmon,” Sam said, then glanced at the recipe, nodding while he read the paper. “I think Alex is gonna love this, Evelyn seemed touched that you wanted to do this for his birthday.” 

“I wanted to thank Alex for everything, and he mentioned the Salmon Dinner at the Luau, and it all came together, I just hope this doesn’t turn out terrible,” Riley said, reading the recipe again to make sure that she was doing everything correctly. 

“You’re an amazing cook, I’m pretty sure it’ll be amazing and hit his feelings just right,” he said, slipping around her to have a cup of coffee. “Are you going to let Robin upgrade you cabin here soon?” 

“I just need a few more resources, but I’ll be good to go in the next couple of days,” she said, letting the salmon shimmer on the stove for a little bit longer before Riley deemed it good enough to take to Alex. “Then I’ll get more stuff to make my coop,” 

Sam took a seat at the dinner table and began digging into the food Jodi had laid out for them before leaving, not letting Riley help with a single piece of it. “What are your plans for the farm?” 

“I’ll probably expand the farm once I have everything built, at least animals wise, maybe a couple of more sheds,” 

“You aren’t sure yet until you have everything placed,” Sam said, understanding, nodding his head at the undertones of Riley’s statement.

“Sadly, yeah, that’s exactly the case,” she said, pulling out a couple of papers she had in her back pocket for him to look at. “I sketch ideas out, but as you can see all of them seem different.” 

Sam looked through each sketch that Riley had given him to look over. He saw the difference between each new layout of the farm, even if they were only rough layouts and such, they showed each idea that Riley had in mind. “I’m looking forward to seeing what you have planned for the farm, it’ll do this place some good,” Sam said, placing the papers off to the side of the table, so they didn’t get ruined. “Remember, you have people who will help you if you ask,”

“I know, Sam, I haven’t forgotten,” Riley said, checking on the salmon until she began plating it in a lunch box that she bought pretty much for today. “Anyways, tell your mom I say thank you for allowing me to use the kitchen,” 

“I will message us later to let us know how it went,” Sam said, patting Riley’s back as she passed by, a way to encourage her. 

Riley gave Sam a smile and a thumbs up, before she left, heading over to the Muller’s residents, a skip in her skip. She knew that she forgot her sketches and the recipe for the Salmon Dinner with Sam, but it gave her a chance to go back over soon. Gave her a chance to learn some recipes from Jodi too, because Riley looked forward to her chance to start cooking once Robin had a chance to change her cabin into a decent living space. 

She arrived at the front door of the Muller’s, and she softly knocked before letting herself into their home. Evelyn had told Riley that she had permission to walk in if nobody answered, especially if Riley needed Alex for something. 

Riley took her time going up to Alex’s room, softly calling out along the way, not wishing to spook anyone if they just hadn’t heard her. Maybe Alex was at the Beach already. It seemed a little bit early for that. Carefully, now that she was at the bedroom door to Alex’s room, Riley knocked before peeking her head in. Alex was standing at his bookcase, facing it, looking rather troubled from the angle that she was at. She closed the door behind her before she made her way into the room more. 

“Hey, you okay?” Riley questioned, voice soft, coming up beside Alex and glancing at the books; all of which were in mint condition. 

Alex was a little startled by her sudden appearance, but it showed that he was just that lost in his head, but when he saw Riley and confirmed that it really was her, he relaxed a bit, not much, but it was enough that it was visible. “Oh, hey, Riley,” he greeted, his voice holding none of its cheerful determination he usually had when Riley came to visit, really throwing Riley off. 

She’s seen him like this a handful of times, but she had watched him become sorrowful in those moments, and easily encouraged him, though right now, it was pretty obvious that Alex had been standing there for a while. “Seriously, what’s wrong? You’re worrying me…” 

Alex sighed, nodding his head towards the books. “Look at all these books. None of them have I touched, or have I read them,” he said, eyes looking over each spine, titles just blending together the more he looked over them. “The thought of cracking one open makes me nervous… but you can’t make a decent living in this world without a brain… Maybe my old man was right, I’m worthless,”

Riley’s eyes widen at that, surprised by the last bit of that sentence more so than anything else he said. “Alex, everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses, I’m not some kind of genius, if I was, I wouldn’t have taken a job that made me regret every morning I woke up, I would have moved out to the Valley much sooner,” she began, looking over the titles of the books, seeing many that would probably interest Alex if he wanted to read them. “A lot of us are working on our weaknesses, I’m working on my weaknesses right now… So, you really just need to remind yourself that just do what makes you happy and if that means working on making your weaknesses strengths than do that.” 

Alex stood there for a moment, taking Riley’s words in, thinking them over. “Yeah, I guess you’re right… I just gotta work on it.” 

“Also, don’t dwell on what your father said to you in the past, because he obviously had given up, you haven’t,” she reminded him, hold the lunch box a little tighter, a small bit of anger directed towards Alex’s father, but also hoping that her point would get across to him. 

“Well, then I can’t give up now!” Alex said, his strength coming back to him, his green eyes a flamed with determination once more. Riley felt relief come over her when she saw that. “If I work hard, I can do anything,” 

“There you go, that’s the spirit,” Riley encouraged, looking at the upbeat male; who’s attention at fluttered to her in full now that he wasn’t weighed down by his weakness. 

“Hey, maybe one day soon, we’ll have dinner and discuss… phi-lo-so-phy,” Alex proposed, a bright smile on his face as he looked at Riley; who was smiling as well, biting her lip to keep from softly laughing at Alex being cute. “Isn’t that what you smart people talk about?” 

Riley laughed, shaking her head. “Philosophy majors in university do,” she said, looking at Alex with an amused smile. “We can talk about the Zuzu Tunnelers games and referees out for being unfair.” 

Alex laughed as well, nodding in agreement. “Yeah, that sounds a lot better,” he said, finally noticing the lunch box in Riley’s hands. “What do you have there?” 

Riley looked at the box, before holding it out to him. “Why don’t you open it up and see?” she offered, getting a raised eyebrow from Alex, who took the box carefully. 

She stood there patiently, while Alex took his time with opening the box, he did speed up when the first scent of salmon hit his nose, and he needed to take a seat at his desk when he saw what was waiting for him within the box. Riley still stood there, waiting for Alex to say something, but he took out the fork that came with the lunch box and took a small bite, groaning in pleasure. 

Now, that was a sound that would be stuck with her for a few days. But she wasn’t going to dwell on that currently. 

“It’s fresh salmon, it’s like how mom made it,” Alex said, smiling at the food before looking to Riley. “How…?”

“I asked your abuela for the recipe, and I caught the salmon this morning,” Riley explained, happy seeing that peaceful look on Alex’s face. “Happy Birthday, Alex,” 

Alex looked between the food and Riley, rested his fork down and stood up. He only needed to take two big strides before he pulled Riley into a tight hug. It surprised her, but not as much as it made her very flustered due to feeling Alex’s very tone arms wrap tightly around her body. She reminded herself that this wasn’t anything weird, and she wasn’t going to make this weird, so she simply hugged him back, feeling happy that she could make Alex’s day a bit brighter with her hard work. They stayed like that for a little longer before Alex pulled away, looking a little sheepish. 

“Okay, so, I might have a little selfish birthday wish I want to ask you…” Alex said, looking down at Riley, a little hopeful with his green eyes. 

“Sure… What could it be that I could aid you in?” 

“Do you think you could help me with my weaknesses, like reading a book… because I want to spend time with you, and I think this will go a long way…” 

Riley thought about it, and realized that this was the first time that Alex was actually making a personal request from her, he never has in the past, usually, he came to her when it was something his grandparents needed. So, she smiled at him and nodded. “Yeah, I would love that,” 


End file.
